Wwii Memorial

U.S. Army Technical Sergeant John D. Kelly of Venango Township, PA, was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for his heroic actions on June 25, 1944, near Fort du Roule, France. Kelly joined the Army in June 1942, and by June 25, 1944, was serving as a Corporal in Company E, 314th Infantry Regiment, 79th Infantry Division. On that day, at Fort du Roule, Cherbourg, France, Kelly repeatedly exposed himself to hostile fire to destroy an enemy emplacement and capture its occupants. He was killed in action five months after being promoted to technical sergeant. Kelly is buried at the Epinal American Cemetery and Memorial in Epinal, France. U.S. Army Major Carlos Carnes Ogden, Sr. of Borton, Illinois, was also awarded the Medal of Honor for his extraordinary actions on June 25, 1944, near Fort du Roule, France. Ogden joined the Army in April 1941, and by June 25, 1944, was serving as a first lieutenant in Company K, 314th Infantry Regiment, 79th Infantry Division. During a firefight on th...

U.S. Marine Corps Private First Class Harold Glenn Epperson of Akron, Ohio, was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for his heroic actions on June 25, 1944, on Saipan. Previously employed at Goodyear Aircraft, Epperson enlisted in the Marine Corps Reserve on December 12, 1942. He was a 1st Battalion 6th Marines member and shared in the Presidential Unit Citation awarded to his organization for its service at the Battle of Tarawa.  Epperson died in action against the Japanese on Saipan on June 25, 1944, when he threw himself upon an enemy grenade to save his fellow Marines' lives. He was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions on this day. Epperson was just 20 years old. #WeRememberThem less

U.S. Army Private First Class Kiyoshi K. Muranaga of Los Angeles, California, was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for his heroic actions on June 26, 1944, near Suvereto, Italy. Muranaga was born to Japanese immigrant parents and was a Nisei, which means he was a second-generation Japanese-American. He and his family were interned at the Granada War Relocation Center in Colorado during World War II.  He joined the Army in May 1943 and volunteered to be a part of the all-Nisei 442nd Regimental Combat Team, mostly made up of Japanese-Americans from Hawaii and the mainland. Muranaga was killed on the first day of action for the 442nd in Italy while single-handedly manning his squad’s mortar weapon in an attempt to destroy an enemy artillery gun. He was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions on June 26, 1944.  He was one of the 22 Asian American soldiers who received their medals in 2000. #WeRememberThem less

Army Lieutenant Colonel William Joseph O’Brien of Troy, New York, was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for his heroic actions from June 20, 1944, to July 7, 1944, on Saipan, the Mariana Islands. O'Brien joined the Army and, by June 20, 1944, was serving as a lieutenant colonel in the 1st Battalion, 105th Infantry Regiment, 27th Infantry Division. On June 20, 1944, on Saipan in the Mariana Islands, he braved enemy fire to reach several American tanks which were unknowingly firing on their own troops. The following week, on June 28, O'Brien orchestrated and personally led an attack on a Japanese-held ridge. When his battalion came under attack from a much larger enemy force on July 7, he refused to leave the front lines even after being wounded. He continued to lead his men until being overrun and killed. He was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions on June 20, 1944, through July 7, 1944. Lieutenant Colonel O’Brien is buried at Saint Peter’s Cemetery in T...